What about allergies to pets?

The "dander," or skin shedding, of an animal is more potent in causing allergic reactions than the animal's fur or hair. In addition to the skin sheddings and fur, allergic reactions can occur to the saliva and/or urine of cats, dogs, horses, and rodents.

The scope of the animal allergy problem is enormous. These allergies are believed to affect up to 20% of North Americans and are directly related to the increasing popularity of pets, particularly cats and dogs. Studies have shown that dog allergens were found in all examined homes in the U.S., even those without family dogs. Likewise, almost all homes were shown to contain cat allergens.

Cats

The most well-known indoor allergy is probably due to Felis domesticus, the domesticated cat. The main allergen is a protein that is produced by the sweat glands (sebaceous glands) in the skin and appears in the skin flakes or dander that are shed from cats. The allergen is also found to a lesser degree in the fur, saliva, and urine of cats. Even with a past history of tolerance to cats, it is possible for a person with an allergic tendency to develop a sensitivity to cats after constant exposure.

The cat dander allergen is not only confined to the cat but also clings stubbornly to carpets, walls, and furniture. The protein can linger there for months and can serve as a reservoir from which allergens can become airborne when disturbed. The allergen is also lightweight and can float in the air for hours. People can also carry the cat allergen around on clothes, thereby spreading it to work, school, or a friend's house. Accordingly, for those who are allergic to cats, it does not reduce the risk of allergic reaction to simply isolate the cat in another room of the house. The cat dander is present wherever the cat generally exists, and it is this dander that is the problem.

Allergy facts

An estimated 30% of households in North America have at least one cat.

About 6% of the population is allergic to cats.

Dogs

Domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris) are found in over 40% of homes in North America. About 33% of allergic individuals are sensitive to dog dander (as compared with almost 50% of allergic individuals who are cat-allergic). Since the allergic reaction is prompted by skin shedding and not fur, it makes little difference whether the dog has long or short hair; you can be as allergic to a Chihuahua as you can to a sheepdog. Small dogs can also cause as many allergy symptoms as large dogs. There is certainly no evidence that one species is less allergy-provoking than another one. Clearly, no breed is non-allergenic. Even poodles and wheaten terriers (often thought to be hypoallergenic) will likely induce allergy symptoms in sensitive individuals upon continuous exposure.

If your child has asthma and a known allergy, be especially careful not to allow the child to spend the night at the home of a friend or relative with a pet. Severe allergic reactions and even fatalities have been reported. Do not let this happen to your family or your friends.

Horses

Only 10% of allergic individuals have a sensitivity to horses. The reason is probably due to less exposure since there is little horsehair in furniture or bedding anymore. Sensitive people, however, must avoid not only horses and stables, but also objects directly related to them, such as bridles, saddles, and riding clothes. Also be aware that horsehair may still be found in antique furniture and old toys. People who have problems with horses may also react to donkeys, mules, and zebras.

Allergy alert

Remember that a trip to the barn not only exposes you to animal dander, but also to mold, pollen, and lots of other irritants as well. If you suffer from asthma, be careful and be prepared.

Birds

Allergy to birds is more common among bird breeders where the exposure is highest. People who are sensitive to the feathers of chickens, geese, turkeys, and ducks can still eat the meat or eggs from these animals. They may well react, however, to the feathers in down comforters, pillows, and duvets. You should also remember that dust mites, another common allergen, hide in these bedding accessories.

Rodents

This family includes hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, ferrets, mice, and rats. Most allergic reactions are caused by exposures in laboratories, but these animals are also common pets. Mouse urine is an especially potent allergen for personnel that handle laboratory animals. The urine of rats and guinea pigs also contains allergens as do the saliva and fur of rabbits. Rabbit hair can be found in fur coats, glove linings, slippers, foot muffs, pillows, and quilts. The fur of the Angora rabbit is said to be 10 times warmer than that of sheep wool. The soft yarn spun from Angora rabbit fur can be found in hand-knitted trimming, crochet work, gloves, hosiery, and knee pads. Alone or mixed with silk, it is also used in sportswear. And, of course, rabbits often appear in schools as the classroom pet.

Allergy alert

Frequently, parents will report that their child has "won the privilege" of caring for the classroom pet over the weekend or the holiday vacation. This often leads to the onset of a particular animal sensitivity. If you or your child already has allergies or asthma, do not volunteer for the job.

Methods of Hardening

All forms of training the body built on the "golden rule" - a gradual and systematic. With the gradual increase in strength and timing impact on the feet and body separate its functions are becoming more sophisticated and more resistant to environmental influences. If violated in the training course, it can damage health. When hardening can cause cold, but with hard use strong tactile stimulus - a violation of neural processes

Sometimes you can hear from a person who fails to comply with gradualism hardening when he went cold floor barefoot and ill.

There are many options for training: if a person easily catches cold, you should first walk in socks, and then barefoot.

Initially, walk barefoot on the room the morning and evening for 10-15 min, elongated daily walking for 10 minutes, and bring it up to an hour a day. After a month, go to the ground in the yard, gardening, outdoors, on grass, and with the onset of frost and snow days off the hoar frost and snow. Well make healthier walking barefoot on hard ground, on small gravel. Coarse skin on the feet diminishes pain and cold sensations.

After walking barefoot massage them with soles of the feet. Massage gastrocnemius muscle. If the process hardening succeeds, people can freely walk barefoot on ice and snow.

Along with walking barefoot well chill wash his feet and pouring water. When foot immersed in a wash basin with water at room temperature for a moment, then knead until fluffy towel feeling the heat. Duration foot baths a day increase for a moment and brings up to 10 minutes, reducing every 3 days the temperature of water by 1 ° C. After 2 months, the water temperature should be no higher than 5-7 ° C.

Pouring legs make way contrast hardening. Prepare two jar. In one pour hot water (about 40 ° C) and the other - cold (10-15 ° C). First purring hot water to the foot 1-2 min, followed by one minute - a cold. Finish shower procedure should be half a minute feet with hot water. Dry off and then carefully massage foot.

The temperature of cold water is gradually brought to 3-5 ° C. Elderly hardening need to start rubdown with a towel legs soaked with water at room temperature, lowering its temperature every day at the G S, and a week to go to shower or wash the feet. After this training you can walk barefoot, in keeping with a gradual and systematic.

S. Kneyp recommended handing walking bare feet on cold, wet rock, on the dewy grass, on snow, especially fresh, soft. Walking on the dew, useful and old and young, especially people from out of the nervous system (neurasthenia, neurosis, poor sleep, etc.). Walking should last from 10 to 30 minutes, after which you want to put on dry shoes and walk 15 - 20 minutes, according to Kneyp.

Walking through the fresh snow can last 3-4 minutes. Kneyp system is widely used in home and sanatorium conditions in many countries.

Children Hardening.

For the recovery of children of all ages are very helpful in all respects, walking barefoot, if only because it is preventing flat-footedness and foot deformities (curvature of the large toes, with subsequent negative manifestations of this pathology).

To achieve a good overall physical development of children and resistance to disease, researchers recommend that teach children to a systematic walk barefoot (home, yard, testimony and even in parks, gardens, on the street).

Start need in the summer, and then cool in time to continue a healthy exercise.

Young children tend to natural tendency to walk barefoot if they do not prevent parents, particularly on puddle after rain. Many people teach a child to walk barefoot, keep the habit for life and have no problems with flat-footedness, deformed feet, etc. In addition, they are less likely to get sick Cold deasese treatment.

It has been said that in all cases need to adhere to "golden rules" hardening - gradual and systematic. Children need to teach walking barefoot on the carpet first, but in the warm summer days - on the grass or hot sand.

Children 1 year and older who pass this course hardening, you can allow run barefoot on the painted wooden or parquet floor, and in summer, the grass or on the sand no more than 30 minutes a day and then gradually increase the time. Tempered in a way a child of preschool age can benefit from health year-round homes and into a warm time in the yard and walk without shoes. Useful after walking barefoot foot baths, with a gradual lowering of water temperature.

Since the foot reflex associated with upper respiratory track, children, like adults, it can be useful in conjunction with walking barefoot gargle and nose with water, gradually reducing water temperatures of 20 to 8 ° C.

For school-age children, are valid the same recommendation.

Senior seasoned students can also recommend a daily exercises in the air and daily hygiene scamper barefoot on the grass, snow, the ground, asphalt, etc., then useful to massage and exercises to warm the feet until redness and mild burning sensations.

During the period of acute illness all hardening contraindicated. It is important to learn to monitor their health - during hardening and take pressure pulse, respiration control.

Gradual rare pulse at rest spoke about the benefits of training and vice versa. We urge all care about their health and regularly use the walking barefoot - the oldest tool hardening and healing the body.

Recipe for people who are allergic to animal protein(milk, and others)

- My son adopt from mothers allergic to animal protein. The doctors prescribed a strict diet. Say it is not cured.
God forbid one grandmother health. She said about a son: «So it is man - you throw him this cold water! I'd iced water in the basin - ice to much »
Son was then 9 months, I put him on the bars in the bathroom, the woman fled into a far room, and that it poured cold water.
Reaction to the surprise of the son was normal. A week so we poured. And the son was able to drink milk, which he used to be allergic.

- Of course, I can not recommend that all such treatment.
The mechanism here - a challenge thermal stress that generates a huge amount of adrenal cortex hormones. And some children adrenal failure, and such cases are when children die.
And this is just a happy coincidence of circumstances.
Therefore, I strongly recommend to use it. Here, as they say - lucky, no luck.

And be warned, especially men from prolonged exposure to cold.
I have been cases of people after bathing in extreme conditions, a long exposure to cold treat inflammation testicle. This vulnerability to the impact of the strong cooling the body.